Inhuman Academy
by AndiKaneUnderwood
Summary: Tony wonders what's going on, Spencer always knows what's up, Spike's excited to meet his penpal, and Sam just tries to hang on to his control.
1. A Tale of Inhuman Proportions

A Tale of Inhuman Proportions

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

**So, I've had this idea for about a week at the time of writing **_**this**_** paragraph. I got this idea because of an entire universe of crossovers. NCIS came first, right? So, If NCIS has characters that have crossed over to NCIS Los Angeles, then they exist in the same universe. Hawaii Five-O also exists in the same universe and so does MacGyver. I was originally going to leave it at that, but then I remembered how much I'd always wanted NCIS and Criminal Minds to cross over and it kind of spiraled from there. I'm not entirely sure how Numb3rs got into the equation, but it did and I can't seem to make my brain write it out, so I'm keeping it. Flashpoint also came in but for the reason that it was the first universe I wrote a true "Inhuman AU" for rather than just "Canon Divergence" AU as it was for anything pertaining to Marvel or DC.**

**So. Hope you like this. It's a bunch of crossovers I promised myself I'd never do, but here I am anyway.**

**Thank you!**

**AU: Inhuman Academy, Alpha/Beta/Omega**

**Crossover: NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Flashpoint, MacGyver, Hawaii Five-O, Criminal Minds, Numb3rs**

_NCIS Team:_

_L. J. Gibbs: force field generation (Energy), Alpha_

_Tony DiNozzo: metamorphosis (Shifter), Alpha_

_Kate Todd: wings (Transport), Omega_

_Timothy McGee: electrical transportation (Transport), Beta_

_Ziva David: summoning (Transport), Alpha_

_Abby Sciuto: animation (Molecular), Beta_

_Ducky Mallard: energy constructs (Energy), Alpha_

_Jimmy Palmer: animal morphing (Shifter), Omega_

_NCIS Los Angeles Team:_

_G. Callen: precognition (Neuro), Alpha_

_Sam Hanna: hyperkinesis (Transport), Beta_

_Kensi Blye: omnilinguism (Mentality), Alpha_

_Dominic Vail: energy conversion (Energy), Beta_

_Eric Beale: light manipulation (Molecular), Omega_

_Hetty Lange: superhuman longevity (Physical), Beta_

_Nate Getz: empathy (Neuro), Beta_

_Nell Jones: darkness/shadow manipulation (Molecular), Beta_

_Marty Deeks: illusion (Mentality), Omega_

_Flashpoint Team:_

_Greg Parker: power sensing (Fundamental), Beta_

_Ed Lane: invulnerability (Physical), Alpha_

_Jules Callaghan: firebreathing (Physical), Alpha_

_Sam Braddock: telepathy (Neuro), Omega_

_Spike Scarlatti: self-detonation and reformation (Physical), Omega_

_Wordy Wordsworth: superhuman tracking (Mentality), Beta_

_Lew Young: waterbreathing (Physical), Alpha_

_Donna Sabine: Mind Control (PhysMen), Alpha_

_Raf Rousseau: Teleporting (Transport), Beta_

_MacGyver Team:_

_Jack Dalton: ecological empathy (Mentality), Alpha_

_Matty Webber: hyper induction (PhysMen), Beta_

_Wilt Bozer: enhanced speed (Transport), Beta_

_Riley Davis: transducer (Neuro), Alpha_

_Mac MacGyver: power augmentation (Fundamental), Omega_

_Hawaii Five-O Team:_

_Steve McGarrett: power bestowal (Fundamental), Alpha_

_Danny Williams: fire and heat manipulation (Elemental), Omega_

_Kono Kalakaua: echolocation (Physical), Alpha_

_Chin Ho Kelley: memory manipulation (PhysMen), Beta_

_Adam Noshimuri: omniscience (Mentality), Omega_

_Criminal Minds Team:_

_Aaron Hotchner: weakness detector (PhysMen), Alpha_

_David Rossi: power negation (Fundamental), Beta_

_Penelope Garcia: technopathy (Neuro), Beta_

_Derek Morgan: proprioceptive (Physical), Alpha_

_Emily Prentiss: biological manipulation (Physical), Alpha_

_JJ Jareau: cold/ice manipulation (Elemental), Omega_

_Spencer Reid: essokinesis (Mentality), Omega_

_Numb3rs Team:_

_Don Epps: possession (PhysMen), Alpha_

_Charlie Epps: psionic blast (PhysMen), Omega_

_Terry Lake: resurrection (Mentality), Beta_

_David Sinclair: night-vision (Physical), Beta_

_Colby Granger: probability manipulation (Molecular), Beta_

_Megan Reeves: sound manipulation (Molecular), Beta_

_Amita Ramanujan: healer (Physical), Alpha_

_Larry Fleinhart: intangibility/phasing (Molecular), Beta_

_Inhuman Academy~Inhuman Academy_

"So, what's going on with the transfer?" asked the Shifter, Tony DiNozzo.

"I don't know, apparently there's going to be some transfers from the Canadian Academy for Inhumans coming to America. They want us to help them adjust. There's a couple of Physicals and they have a teacher with them, but the big thing everyone's been buzzing about is the Neuro they have coming with them." replied the Illusionist, Marty Deeks.

"Neuro? Like, Nate, Neuro?" Derek Morgan, a Blinder, came into the room and tilted his head.

Marty nodded, "Yeah, like Spencer, but he can't do the whole 'know how you feel always' thing that Nate can. I haven't heard what the Neuro _can_ do, but rumors have been flying."

Derek hummed and sat on his bed. "Alright, well. I guess this dorm could use a couple more guys. How many are there, Callen?"

G. Callen lifted his head from where he'd been laying on a bean bag near Derek's bed. With a groan, he sat up and closed his eyes. The others were completely silent until Callen inhaled sharply and his eyes flashed open and glowed pure white. When the glow had settled down and his eyes were back to their usual bright blue, he looked at the others and nodded. "There's six of them including their teacher."

Derek nodded, "You see anything about their powers?"

Callen nodded, "Yeah. The teacher's one of the Fundamentals. The majority of them are Physicals, but one's a Mentality and you already know about the Neuro. Didn't see anything else about their powers."

"Who's going over there?" questioned Colby Granger, glancing at the rest of the room.

For the most part, the Physicals had this room for themselves, no one came in to bother them as it was their floor. But sometimes, it happened that the rather large groups of friends all ended up in the common room together, or the Physical's room since it was the largest. Today, "the others" included Tony, Marty, Derek, G, Colby Granger, David Sinclair, Chin Ho Kelley, and Steve McGarrett as the rest of the group was in class, Training, or doing homework in the Girls' Dorms. The rest of the rather large group would probably join them in the common room soon.

"Spencer might know, but he's busy with Professor Rossi." Derek somehow managed to disappear from all of their sights as he activated his power and sat back on his bed.

Steve nodded, "Danny could know too, he's good like that; he'll be around soon enough."

David sat up a little. "Don might know too, but I don't know where he is today. He wasn't in Training."

"Charlie's gotten a little under the weather, David, remember? Don doesn't go anywhere when Baby Genius is down." Coby reminded his friend.

Derek chucked, that reminded him of him and Spencer. "Okay, I'll call Spencer. He's probably out by now." He deactivated his power and sat up again, bringing his cell phone to his ear.

The others conversed quietly as Derek spoke to his friend. "Okay. Yeah. JJ's visiting her parents, Spence, remember? Right. Okay, see you in a minute."

_NCIS~NICS Los Angeles~Flashpoint~MacGyver~H5O~CM~Numb3rs_

Spencer entered the room with Danny Williams and Tim McGee on his heels. He was speaking miles a minute with Tim about old computers and gaming codes.

Danny sat next to Steve and sighed. Steve pressed a quick, loving kiss to the blonde's temple and smiled as Danny faked pushing him off with a grumbled, "Neanderthal".

Spencer crossed the room and pulled himself onto Derek's bed, continuing his conversation with Tim as he did before Derek distracted him with a smile and a kiss. "Hey!" he bit back his grin, but the smile wasn't something he could hide.

David rolled his eyes and Tony faked a gag, but Chin smiled, thinking about his own love Abby Dunn, who was not allowed at the school because she was Null, but he loved regardless. Tim looked at Tony and raised an eyebrow, offering a single name, "Jimmy." Tony shut up and his face went bright red, but his hair turned a lighter shade of brown. Tim smiled and Callan laughed.

Derek eventually managed to ask Spencer the question he'd been burning to have answered. "Do you know who's leaving for Canada?"

Spencer nodded, "Yeah. The Arrows, Flashes, Supers, and Legendary teams. Do you know them?"

Derek nodded and Tony choked on his drink, coughing and looking very surprised, "Wait, really?"

Spencer nodded, "Yeah, Rossi said that our massive group was supposed to go, but they wouldn't have been able to take us all and I understand his reasons."

Colby grunted and David quickly fired off, "What were his reasons?"

Spencer shook his head, "We would've had to go in a tight space, the private plane on the roof, and it wouldn't have fit us all nor been a smart idea. And the Headmaster knows that if all of can't go then none of us do. JJ and Danny would never make it in the plane together for so long." Which really kind of sucked because both blondes really liked each other, but what could they do? JJ would burn and Danny would freeze and neither of them would forgive themselves for hurting the other.

Danny grimaced at the reminder and Steve gave him a tight hug as a comfort. "And we aren't leaving either of them behind." Steve finished for Spencer. "Good thinking."

Spencer grinned. "I also know the names of each of the people coming."

"Wait, seriously? How?" asked Marty, who'd been texting the whole conversation to his girlfriend, Kensi Blye.

"Remember my penpal? I've been talking to him for about 2 years now. His name is Michelangelo Scarlatti, nicknamed Spike. He's told me all about his team, they call themselves the Flashpoint Team."

Tony chuckled, "That's so cool."

Spencer continued, "Anyway, I started telling him all about us and each of our teams. He got really interested in coming here and I told him that our Headmaster still does transfers for all schooling years and he jumped on the idea. I think he ended up exploding his computer by accident." Spencer laughed.

"Is his thing Acidic Touch?" Marty questioned, pushing his phone into his pocket as Kenzie came waltzing through the door and sat down at his side.

"No, Self-Detonation and Reformation. It's really cool how he does it too, no evidence that it happened is ever left behind. He wants to work with bombs once he graduates the Academy." Spencer replied, "Anyway, it's going to be him and his team, which includes their Homeroom teacher."

Kensi raised her hand, "So what are their names then?"

Spencer nodded and sat up, which seemed to be the default when he was using his massive brain as a Recall. "I actually don't know, but I know their American Classes. There are four Physicals. There's the Mentality and the Neuro. They also have two tagalongs that aren't usually on their team but are sometimes brought along for the fun of it. A PhysMen and a Transport."

The door slid open again and in came Dominic Vail, a Converter, with Eric Beale and Wilt Bozer behind him. "So, Hetty's either gone sane or I've gone nuts 'cause her stories are actually starting to make sense." Dom sighed, heading for the beanbag next G's.

"She's fine, you've probably just been spending a little too much time with her. How's Mac?" asked Tim.

"Still in Heat, Jack's with him. Emily said JJ's going to get back in an hour and they'll meet us in the main room." Bozer replied.

The group each broke off, Derek and Spencer stayed in Derek's room, but the rest split off to different rooms. It would be a few hours later when JJ and Emily got back and Mac had come out of Heat before they came back together to meet and get to know their new roommates.

_NCIS~NICS Los Angeles~Flashpoint~MacGyver~H5O~CM~Numb3rs_

Spike Scarlatti looked up from his phone with a grin, "Spencer says we're good to come up anytime." he announced to the rest of the bus.

"Why am I here again? I miss Hank already," Donna Sabine pouted.

Ed Lane smiled and bumped his shoulder to hers. "Cause you wanted to see America. We would've let him come with, but he wanted to stay home, remember?"

Donna brightened. "Right!"

Sam Braddock reached over and bumped her fist against hers. "And don't forget you still have us, video chats, and Rut leave."

Donna chuckled and leaned back, "Right."

Sam leaned back and wrapped an arm around his smaller partner, Jules Callaghan. "So, do they Classify Inhumans here like they do in Canada here, or what?"

Spike shook his head and pulled up the Academy for Inhuman Persons' website, "No, they have more classes. Sam's still a Mentalist, but they call it Neuro in America. Wordy's a Mentality, Raf's a Transport, those don't change. Mr. Parker's classified as Fundamental rather than an Energy, they have a lot more than we do. The rest of it is pretty much the same." Spike scrutinized the list and hummed, "Oh! Donna, you're not a Physical here. They have a classification called PhysMen. They don't have a lot of those, you'll be the first of the female students of this generation."

Donna perked up, a smile spreading across her face. "That's awesome!" She pulled out her phone and fired off a few text messages. "Hank says that the rest of the Physical kids are jealous."

"What's Hank's power again?" asked Raf Rosseau.

"Weather control. They classify him as an Elemental, but he's always felt more like a Molec." Donna replied, glancing out of the window. "Holy shit." she breathed suddenly. "Guys, look at this."

The rest glanced out of their own windows and were just as surprised.

"Wow." murmured Spike.

"Did Spencer mention this?" asked Wordy, looking up at the building.

Spike shook his head, a smile breaking out over his face again. "He did not."

Ahead of them, was a mansion with gleaming white flags; a DNA symbol stylized in the middle of the flag, the American Inhuman school's flag.

Spike smiled wider and laughed, "We made it!" he turned to Lewis Young and grinned. "We're here!" His entire body steamed, but nothing went up in flames and Spike's body didn't detonate.

Lewis grinned, "Just hope they have a pool."

A soft brush against all of their minds made them look at Sam and he flushed. Greg Parker smiled, "And more accepting people."

Sam nodded, Jules smiled at him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Okay."

They grabbed their things and filed off the bus. A mousy, brown hair boy met them out front and grinned, "Spike?" he asked.

Spike stepped forward and nodded, "You must be Spencer then."

Spencer nodded. "We've been waiting. Come on! I'll introduce you to everyone." Spencer went bounding up the stairs and the others all followed, easily keeping up despite their bags and backpacks.

_NCIS~NICS Los Angeles~Flashpoint~MacGyver~H5O~CM~Numb3rs_

It was all Sam could do to hold on to the iron control his father had instilled into him over the years as he stepped into the American Academy for Inhuman Persons. There were so many people here and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. He could literally feel everything and it bothered him a lot. His homeroom teacher brushed against his shoulder and Sam felt comfort settle under his skin as he headed off with another teacher. _It's okay Sam._

Sam sighed, releasing so of the tension in his shoulders and nodded. _Thank you._

Spike's penpal, Spencer Reid, led them upwards over six flights of stairs and he could feel Lew's discomfort radiating from the Waterbreather. Sam brushed up against Lew's mind and Lew relaxed marginally.

Spencer stopped in front of a door that read "Year Three" and smiled. "Sorry for the walk, our elevators are currently out of order. Our resident technopaths are working on them, I promise. In the meantime, this is the dorm you'll stay in with myself and the rest of my rather large group."

"Group?" asked Jules curiously.

Spencer nodded, "Yes, it varies year to year, but my year is one of the biggest in the history of the Academy. You'll be comfortable, each of you will have your own rooms and dorms are split between male and female students. Um, the teachers are dived between each of the Power Classes."

Wordy raised a hand, "What are the Power Classes?"

Spencer flushed, "Let's show you around the room first, then I can answer Class questions."

So, Spencer opened the door and the Flashpoint group entered into one of the largest rooms they'd ever seen. Larger that should technically be possible with the layout of the building being what it was. "This is way too big to be possible." murmured Spike.

Sam privately agreed.

Spencer flushed again. "That's in part due to the Headmaster's predecessor, Jason Gideon. He had Essokinesis as well, the ability to manipulate reality and even break its rules," he explained.

Ed looked around, "There wouldn't happen to be a pool on this floor would there?"

Spencer shook his head. "No, but I can fix that, just give me a second." Spencer's eyes flashed a dark red and with a wave of his hand, the room creaking and moaning in protest, a large indoor pool was suddenly placed near the open windows to the left of the room, complete with a towel rack and a cleanup station hidden away behind a curtain. Lew's smile reflected in Sam's head as he took a few bounding steps towards it and reached down to test the temperature.

Spencer's hand went to his head as he sighed and his eyes flickered open. Spike was quick to reach out and steady him. "Spencer?"

The Reality-Warper smiled and gently patted Spike's shoulder. "I'm alright. But reality doesn't like it when her rules are messed with. What you're seeing now is the backlash from using my power. If I use too much at one time, it could be fatal."

Sam looked up quickly and his eyes trained on Spencer. "Your powers could kill you?"

Spencer nodded, "Yeah, but it's okay. I know how to moderate them."

Sam nodded, "Right," then glanced back at Lew. He managed to sneak a few glances at Spencer every now and again when the young man was wrapped up in his explanations as the tour continued.

Sam got kind of lost in his own head as they continued on. Sam hadn't heard of anyone else's powers being able to kill them. He was sure it happened, he couldn't be the only one, but he'd never met someone like that in person. Spencer just seemed so young. Like, just out of elementary school young. He couldn't be more than 18, but he also didn't look to be older than 12.

What kind of God did they have that gave a power that could kill the user to a 12-year-old?

_Sam? Are you okay?_ asked Jules, who was always in his head at this point.

Sam nodded, not trusting himself to be able to use his mind to speak. Jules nodded to herself and her silver tie flickered a moment before it brightened and Sam felt a bit more energetic as they continued. He smiled and brushed her shoulder in thanks.

She smiled back and headed to the front to speak softly with Spencer.

Sam found himself walking by himself for all of three heartbeats when Spike came around on his right and Lew on his right. Spike wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulders and started chatting away about how cool the new school was and how Sam was going to be more accepted here, he was sure of it. Sam knew they were distracting him from the awful thoughts roaming around in his head about how easy it would be to cut someone's strings with his head and his father's voice yelling about him being a failure of a child and how he'd wanted an _Alpha_ son, not the abomination he had.

Sam was grateful for his friends. More than he'd ever been able to say.

"Okay, can I get everyone's names and powers, please?" Spencer's soft voice asked as he clapped his hands together to grab their attention.

Ed stepped up. "Our teacher's name is Greg Parker, he's where?"

Spencer thought, "Likely being shown around the school and informed about the different Classes and such."

Ed continued with a nod, "I'm Ed Lance, I've got invulnerability. You know Spike," Spike smiled, "This is Jules Callaghan, fire breathing." Jules offered a smile as well. "Kevin Wordsworth, we call him Wordy, superhuman tracking. Lew Young, water breathing. Donna Sabine, mind control, Raf Rousseau; he's got teleportation."

Spencer smiled as he nodded to each of them.

Ed came to stand beside Sam. "And this is Sam Braddock, telepathy."

Spencer's eyes didn't change, so Sam brushed up against his mind, taking care to not let Spencer know he was there. Spencer's mind was a calliope of "Holy mother of everything Holy, that's so cool!" and Sam didn't know what to make of that.

Then Spencer smiled and came forward, "Wonderful to meet you, Sam Braddock. I guess you'll be in with Nate and G, but don't worry, the Neuro's are all pretty cool. There's a bunch of empty rooms near mine so you all can go there if you want, or there's a lot more up near Danny's room, he can show you once you meet him."

"What about you?" Sam asked softly as Spencer made to turn.

"My Class? I'm a Mentality. Like, your Wordy." Spencer smiled again.

Spike's tie flickered and a few words came flowing through. _If you want to tie to him, all you have to do is ask, Sam._

Sam glanced over at Spike and nodded, but his answer was a bit different. _I can't ask that of someone I just met. It took me six months just to _think _about tying to you all._

_Just ask him, Sammy._ Spike replied with a smile as he told Spencer that the rooms near the Reality Warper's would be fine.

Spencer led them to the rooms near his. "Donna and Jules can't room over here, the Headmaster won't allow it, but Kate, Abby, and Ziva would be happy to show you all to the rooms near there's. They love meeting new people. Pick any you'd like. None of them are spoken for."

Sam let Spike have the room right next to Spencer's, but he didn't think twice about snagging the room right across from him.

_NCIS~NICS Los Angeles~Flashpoint~MacGyver~H5O~CM~Numb3rs_

Meeting the transfers was an adventure, thought Kate as she and Ziva settled into Ziva's bed that night. "What do you think about them, _Jolie_?" Ziva asked, gently stroking her hair.

"Raf is pretty cool, but he doesn't have wings, so I can't race him the way I want to. He'll be a good friend, though." Kate couldn't see it, but Ziva's smile was something she didn't have to in order to know it was there. She sighed in pleasure as Ziva's hand made its way to her wings.

The full span of her wings reached almost 12 feet and they were a cream-and-pearl color, Kate couldn't understand Ziva's obsession with them, but it was always a pleasant feeling when the older girl ran her fingers through the feathers.

"There are a few good ones in the other Classes as well. Do you think they'll be good here?" Ziva continued to stroke Kate's wings and Kate felt another smile.

Kate hummed happily and nodded, "Most definitely."


	2. the strong man

the strong man stands up for himself, the stronger man stands up for others

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

**AU: Inhuman Academy, Alpha/Beta/Omega**

_NCIS:_

_Kate Todd: wings (Transport), Omega_

_Jimmy Palmer: animal morphing (Shifter), Omega_

_NCIS Los Angeles:_

_Eric Beale: light manipulation (Molecular), Omega_

_Marty Deeks: illusion (Mentality), Omega_

_Flashpoint:_

_Spike Scarlatti: self-detonation and reformation (Physical), Omega_

_Sam Braddock: telepathy (Neuro), Omega_

_MacGyver:_

_Angus MacGyver: power augmentation (Fundamental), Omega_

_Hawaii Five-0:_

_Danny Williams: fire and heat manipulation (Elemental), Omega_

_Adam Noshimuri: omniscience (Mentality), Omega_

_Criminal Minds:_

_JJ Jareau: ice and cold manipulation (Elemental), Omega_

_Spencer Reid: essokinesis (Mentality), Omega_

_Numb3rs:_

_Charlie Eppes: psionic blast (PhysMen), Omega_

Spencer Reid had been bullied for much of his life. Since he'd graduated high school, he'd not been tormented like that, but that didn't mean people didn't try. Spencer only ever had to tap into his power and make his eyes glow red for them to leave him alone. He'd never used his powers on another person, didn't ever plan to start, but that didn't mean he had to put up with their bullshit.

Spencer also didn't need an Alpha at his back to protect him, he was good at protecting himself. He had a sharp tongue for a reason, just because he was shy about using it didn't mean he couldn't. Sure, having an Alpha at his back made the bullies more hesitant to deal with him, but Spencer had sent bullies running far longer than he'd had Derek.

Spencer could deal with bullies all by himself; happened to be very good at it.

This didn't mean he expected others to deal with their own bullies and it also didn't mean he wanted them too. He was never going to stand by and watch as someone else got hurt, no matter how much he knew or didn't know them. So, he didn't understand why Sam Braddock, the new transfer from the Canadian Inhuman school, expected him to.

Spencer knew from the moment he saw Sam that the blonde boy had been abused, he'd seen the same signs in Marty when they where introduced. Perhaps not physically, but emotionally and mentally definitely. Knowing what he knew about abuse victims, Spencer's immediate reaction to finding out had been figuring out how bad the abuse had been and knowing how to handle it when Sam lashed out.

Spencer had kept an eye on any of the group he'd suspected of any form of abuse, but he suspected Tony, Marty, Mac, and Sam were the worst off. Spencer was also quite sure he knew what to should any of them need help. Spencer also kept an eye on a couple of the kids he suspected of being bullied.

Like little Charlie Eppes, Don Eppes' younger brother, a Third Year in the Academy, but younger than all the rest. Charlie had gone to college at age nine but ended up at the Academy when his powers came in a year later and triggered his brother's in response. Charlie was bullied for being the youngest and smarter than the majority of the school and Spencer was usually the one to run across him when the older ones would decide to bully Charlie again.

Spencer usually seemed to be the one who ran across _any_ of the ones in his large group being bullied. So, it didn't surprise him when he came across Sam having a panic attack while Toth and his crew tormented him.

"Hey!" he shouted, "Leave him alone!" Spencer came rushing forwards, thinking it that those bullies were going to make him miss his meeting with Professor Rossi, and stood in between Toth and Sam.

Toth backed up, looking at Spencer like Spencer was the scum of the Earth. "Reid."

Spencer's eyes narrowed. "Toth. I thought you got suspended. After the last time you picked on us, Headmaster said you'd go to a psych ward next time."

Toth growled and raised a hand. "Headmaster doesn't have any control over the board though. And guess who has pull with it?"

Spencer's eyes flickered and turned red, Toth's friends hesitated and moved back. Toth glanced back at them and snarled. "Cowards."

Spencer laughed. "Sure, cowards for leaving a fight they know they're going to lose." He stepped forward and the other kids raced off.

Toth stood his ground and waited, twisting the pencil around his fingers. Finally, he huffed and turned. "This isn't over Reid!"

Reid's eyes narrowed further. "Yes. It is."

Spencer turned and knelt down, quick to check Sam over, though he knew very well that panic attacks could last a long time. He was very thankful that a crowd hadn't formed in the wake of Sam's humiliation. That wouldn't be good for anyone let alone a boy with an abusive past. Spencer knew immediately what he had to do, and didn't hesitate to do it. His eyes flickered red and he waved a glowing hand, easily warping reality to create a new storage room around the pair.

He sat down carefully, hesitant to make any noise, even as his head spun and the room around him got new black dots in the interior. Spencer closed his eyes and breathed deeply for a few moments, counting his heart beats to calm down. When he opened his eyes, the spots vanished and he moved over to Sam.

"Sam, can you hear me?" Spencer asked softly, hoping Sam wasn't so far into his own head he was unaware of what was going on around him. Sam's head picked up minutely and he stammered out something that sounded like Spencer's name, but it was too faint for him to make out.

"Sam, I'm right here, okay? Do you think it would be okay if I came over to you?" Spencer asked. Sam's body shook and shivered, but his nod was clear as day, so Spencer slowly and carefully crawled over to sit next to the blonde boy. Spencer held out his hand, just a little bit, and carefully warped reality once more, making a bottle of water appear in his hand. He set it down gently and sighed. "Sam, I'm going to take your hand now, is that alright?"

Sam didn't respond for a while, and Spencer knew he needed to take this slow. Just as Spencer was about to prompt Sam again, Sam nodded and Spencer smiled.

"That's good Sam, that's really good. Okay." Spencer took Spencer's hand and was nearly shocked at how cold Sam's fingers where. "You're so cold." he murmured to himself.

Spencer pulled off his jacket and set it aside for a moment, then prepared himself to help his new friend through his panic attack. He took Sam's hand again and didn't flinch when it was squeezed harshly. Spencer had dealt with worse from broken glass and desk drawers when his mother had her fits.

Sam's breathing was ragged and thready and faint and Spencer feared Sam would pass out at this rate. "Sam? Can you hear me?" Spencer asked quietly.

Sam's eyes flickered white and Spencer worried he'd lose control of his powers if this continued. "Sam, I need you to calm down. Can you take a breath for me? We'll do it together. Ready?"

"C-Can't." Sam gasped out, breathing getting threadier.

Spencer shook his head. "You can. It's easy. I'll help you." He nodded, "Just copy me, Sam. Ready?"

Sam nodded and Spencer began to breathe in. Sam copied him after a moment of struggle. "Good, that's good. Now, hold, two, three, four. And out, two three four. Good, Sam. You're doing so well. Think you can do it again?"

Sam nodded. Spencer smiled. "Good. Breathe in, two, three, four. And hold, you're doing good Sam. Out, two, three, four."

Spencer helped Sam through several more rounds of breathing before Sam had it under control and his eyes had stopped glowing, indicating that the blonde was no longer in danger of losing his tightly reigned control. Spencer stepped back, but Sam refused to let go of his hand. Sam leaned back and closed his eyes, his head thumping against the wall.

Spencer was perfectly content to lay there as long as Sam needed him too, so he settled in to wait. Eventually, Sam looked at Spencer and sighed. "Thank you."

Spencer hummed, "No problem, Sam. Toth is an asshole. I can get him out of school again on harassment charges."

Sam shook his head and nodded. "You could. But then he'd come back angrier. So, I think we should do something different."

Spencer smiled. "What did you have in mind?"

_NCIS~NICS Los Angeles~Flashpoint~MacGyver~H5O~CM~Numb3rs_

Spencer had accepted the idea not because he thought it was a good idea, but because Sam swore up and down that he wouldn't get hurt.

Sam's next question was for Sam to tie his mind to Spencer's mind. Spencer had of course agreed, and Sam got a new maroon colored tie in his mind to go alongside the others. Spencer was worried as Sam headed down the hallway to his next class (and to catch Toth in a trap of his own making).

_Don't worry, Spencer. I know what I'm doing._ Sam reassured his friend.

Spencer chuckled. _I know you do, but that won't stop me from worrying. You're sure you won't get hurt?_

Sam's reassurance was not in words but in feeling. Spencer sighed. "Okay." So, he continued as normal, running over the plan in his head. Everyone had been informed, the Omegas anyway. They'd all agreed that it may not be a smart idea to inform the overprotective Alphas of a plan that would likely get one or more of them hurt.

The plan went like this. Sam would put himself back out as bait since he was Toth's most recent "favorite" victim. The other Omegas of the group would watch Sam's back because God only knew what kind of trouble Sam could get into in five minutes.

Once Toth had begun shoving Sam around, a few of the others would fake going to get Jules to intervein and get Toth to back off. The said others would be the ones less inclined to violence; Eric, Jimmy, Mac, and Charlie, and, in reality, would be getting the rest of the Omegas. Meanwhile, Spencer would bait Toth into a fight and the ones left behind would back him up. Spencer hadn't been sure about this, but the others were on board, so Spencer made Sam promise that he wouldn't get hurt and allowed it to happen when the promise was made. Danny hadn't liked the idea either, but he did agree Toth needed to be dealt with, so he allowed it as well and promised to keep Steve out of their hair.

So, the plan commenced without issues. Sam was pushed into his lockers right on schedule and he felt an amused flicker from Spike's magenta tie as he came rushing through the crowd, smoke floating off his skin like wisps of cloud. Don't get him wrong, Spike absolutely hated Toth for laying hand on Sam, but he also found it amusing that Toth was so stupid as to pick on one of the most powerful Inhumans in the world.

Perhaps it was a testimony to how much they trusted each other that they were okay with this plan.

Spencer came around the corner as planned and walked right into a circle of students. He knew Sam and Toth would be in the middle of the circle while Spike would be trying to get through Toth's bodyguards on the other end. Spencer hummed, heaved a sighed, then slipped right between the other kids as he made his way through the crowd.

Spencer slipped himself between Toth and Sam, just as he had before, and noticed that Toth had more people than usual. He logged that information for later. It had startled the bully and his cohorts enough that Spike was able to slip away from his captors and kneel down next to Sam. They whispered to each other as Spencer glimpsed Mac and Charlie rushing down to the science wing.

Toth growled. "I told you it wasn't over, Reid."

Spencer snarled, "I told you it was." Without taking his eyes off of Toth, Spencer called back to Spike, "How's he doing?"

Spike answered promptly, helping Sam to stand, "He's got a few scratches, but he'll be fine."

Spencer's eyes narrowed on Toth. Toth began running his mouth. "None of you should even be here, you know. Omegas are the weakest of the Secondary genders. Half of them refuse to start getting a handle on their powers they're so afraid of them. Inhuman species should rest on the shoulders of the strongest of us. On the Alphas."

Spencer had heard the Alpha Supremacy bullshit before, but he'd never paid much heed. He was enough as he was. Who cared about being enough for anyone else? "I'd debate you claims in biology class, but I doubt your tiny brain could handle such complicated arguments. Any biology major could tell you that the Inhuman genes are far more stable in Omegas. When comparison tests were run, Omegas outnumbered Alphas on a three to one ratio."

Toth growled, "Tests can be tampered with, Reid, even you know that. Alphas are superior to Omegas, the Inhuman gene is stronger with them. Alphas are strong! Omegas are _pathetic_."

Silence fell and Toth reared back and threw a tranquilizer dart at Spencer's shoulders. Spencer wasn't the least bit surprised when twin bursts of fire and ice came slashing through the air to cut the dart down. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not feeling too pathetic." drawled the Jersey accent of one Danny Williams. Toth spun around and came face-to-face with a wall of pissed off Year Three Omegas.

Charlie Eppes was standing in the back, far away from the action that would get him in trouble with his brother, but still there to offer support through his powers. Adam Noshimuri and MacGyver stood in front of Charlie, both leveling Toth and his cohorts with angry glares. Marty Deeks and Eric Beale stood closer together, both silently agreeing to tag team if they had too. Kate Todd and Jimmy Palmer also stood closer together, Kate looking fierce and angry, Jimmy looking equally angry, but nervous at the same time. In front of the group stood JJ Jareau and Danny Williams, skin steaming, eyes glowing, and narrowed gazes fixed on Toth.

Spencer smiled, watching as understanding dawned on Toth. "See, Toth, we're pretty tired of being used as your punching bags. I don't know about the rest of them, but I'm done with bullies."

Toth's cohorts raced away again and Spencer knew they'd never have to deal with them again. Toth growled, looking between the bigger group of Omegas and the three in front of him. Finally, he growled and stalked away, pushing past other kids as he did.

Spencer huffed, _Good riddance._ Laughter echoed in his head, but Spencer didn't have to wonder where it had come from.

Charlie Eppes rushed over to help Spike gently check over Sam as Danny and JJ met Spencer. "That went well." Spencer rubbed at his arm awkwardly.

"It was a good plan, Spence. I think Sam's going to grow into a good tactical leader someday." JJ replied with a smile.

"Bonus points for the fight he braved. I don't know many who'd willingly get slammed into lockers." Danny added in.

Spencer glanced at Sam, watching as Adam Noshimuri wandered over to help as well. "Yeah, definitely award-winning. And Toth's not going to mess with us again."

Danny grinned. "Not once. And even if he does, we've got crazy kids willing to take on someone three times their height and body mass willing to step up."

JJ, Spencer, and Danny all shared a laugh as Marty came bouncing over with a black eye and a split lip and Kate Todd on his heels. "The henchmen shouldn't be much of a problem anymore."

JJ raised an eyebrow. "They do that to you?"

Marty shook his head, "No, got these on the track field. Some idiot decided I was veering into his lane and tried to do something about it."

"Sam's headed for the nurse, he should be fine, but Adam refuses to take any chances," Spike said as he wandered over as well. He glanced around at the crowd. "Where are Toth's friends?"

Marty grinned wide and nodded towards the south hall. "Mac, Eric, and Jimmy decided that they didn't get to get away clean."

The gathered Omegas looked over and sure enough, there was Mac tying up Toth's cohorts with what looked like fishing wire while Eric and Jimmy stood watch over them; Jimmy baring a pair of sharp-and-dangerous looking fangs and Eric with brightly glowing fingertips that held small balls of light at the end. Everything about the scene screamed "don't mess with us" and Spencer couldn't help but burst into laughter again.

As the small group calmed down again, Kate sighed. "You know, I'll bet that Ziva probably already knows about this."

Danny nodded, "Steve finds out everything I'm involved in eventually."

Jimmy and Eric had joined them at this point and we're both cringing at the thought of their respective partner's responses to this. "I don't think Tony would like this either."

"Can't hide anything from Callen for long." Eric agreed.

Spencer smiled, "We can all agree the Alphas wouldn't like it. But I think it was very worth it. Agreed?" he asked.

The rest nodded, "Agreed."

Spencer nodded back. "Then we can cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let's just get back up to our floor. Time may wait for some, but early morning classes wait for no one."

The rest laughed as they headed back up to their floor.

Spencer smiled as he spoke quickly and quietly with Spike.

_Strong Alphas may be, but the strong man stands up for himself. It's the strong man who stands up for others._


	3. Fortified by Trauma

Fortified by Trauma

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

**AU: Inhuman Academy, Alpha/Beta/Omega**

_G. Callen: precognition (Neuro), Alpha_

_Sam Hanna: hyperkinesis (Transport), Beta_

_Kensi Blye: omnilinguism (Mentality), Alpha_

_Dominic Vail: energy conversion (Energy), Beta_

_Eric Beale: light manipulation (Molecular), Omega_

_Hetty Lange: superhuman longevity (Physical), Beta_

_Nate Getz: empathy (Neuro), Beta_

_Nell Jones: darkness/shadow manipulation (Molecular), Beta_

_Marty Deeks: illusion (Mentality), Omega_

_"I had been fortified by trauma, the way a bone, once broken, grows back stronger than it had been."_

_~Charles Blow_

Eric Beale was very smart, smarter than most people gave him credit for. He could hustle a poker game (there was a reason he wasn't allowed back in that casino), hack into secure facilities in his sleep (which he'd actually done once), and speak three different languages fluently (German, English, and Sign Language), and speak bits and pieces of a couple others (French and Spanish), but he was most proud of his powers. He could manipulate light, it was the coolest thing he'd ever done with his life. With his abilities of light, he also had a bit of heat manipulation, mostly stemming from the control of his light. Dimming lights was easy for him, increasing the intensity of his light so that it burned when someone touched him was a bit harder.

Eric had first discovered his powers at age nine when he woke up one fine summer morning to his entire body glowing. His mother had panicked and wondered what the Hell was happening. His father had informed his mother that Eric's powers where growing in and they'd need to begin training him to control them.

Problem was, neither his father (who could generate acid) nor his mother (who could absorb kinetic energy) could train him when his skin glowed and his touch burned hotter than the sun. Eric met Hetty Lange at age 11, she was an amazing person. She scared Eric intellectually and was able to give him tips on how to reign in his powers.

Hetty then introduced herself to his parents and offered to take Eric to a school where they could help him learn how to utilize his powers for the greater good. They spoke to Eric about it and once he'd agreed, they sent him off. It was there he met G Callen, who had no known past beyond the Academy, and Sam Hanna, whose parents were in the military. They introduced him to Kensi Blye and Dominic Vail, who introduced him to Nate Getz. In a short three day, Eric had more friends than he'd ever had before his powers developed. He got along well with most of his classmates, excelled in his classes, and even made friends with a brunette Beta girl and a blonde Omega boy.

Penelope "Nell" Jones was a good friend and the perfect complement to his powers with her ability to manipulate shadows and darkness. Martin "Marty" Deeks had come from a broken home but didn't let anyone give him sympathy, pity, or shit for it, so it was no surprise that he was an Illusionist. Eric was happy to know all of his friends. Even happier when he presented as Omega and began a relationship with his Alpha SoulMate G Callen.

Around the middle of year three at the American Academy for Inhuman Persons, they began training you as a hero. They didn't let you go out into the real world yet, you started stopping smaller crimes and _surveillance_ on larger operations before the end of year four, but you got to chose your name and a field partner so when you did begin stopping larger crimes at the beginning of year seven, you had a friend to do it with. Eric would've partnered with any of his friends, but Marty was snapped up by Kensi, and G and Sam had agreed long ago to be partners. Nate and Dominic had also agreed to go into fieldwork together, but Eric was happy to partner with Nell.

He'd chosen Lumos as his hero name, Nell had chosen Shade.

Eric had been Lumos for exactly 22 months, six days, and seventeen minutes when he was kidnapped by one of the biggest supervillains anyone would ever meet. Her name was Alexa Comescu, but her giant black butterfly wings that faded into blue at the ends had given her the name Swallowtail. All of the Year Six and below kids had been told to stay away from her.

They were never supposed to be out in the field, not on this case anyway. It was supposed to be a surveillance mission, some quick recon then back to the car. But, Eric ended up going it alone when Nell ended up sick in the middle of the day thanks to some asshole of an Inhuman dusting her with the flu virus. It would've taken too long to brief another person and Eric had always been able to handle what came his way.

What the Academy's Headmaster didn't know was that this surveillance mission wasn't all it seemed to be. The shop Eric was supposed to be looking around, it was a front for something far more sinister. And the owners weren't to keen on seeing a teenage Inhuman snooping around.

So, Eric had run when the bullets started flying and hid behind some old crates, sending a Light Clone**(1)** out to lead them away. He breathed heavily, trying not to have a Panic attack, and waited as the bullets began getting further away. When he was sure he wasn't going to be caught or draw any unwanted attention, he pulled up his hand and tapped the wrist band he'd requested when he put together his uniform. The hologram popped up and Eric's hands trembled as he hit the call button.

Static was his only answer.

Eric tried again with the same results.

When the static came up a third time, Eric thumped his head against the box he was leaning against and whimpered. He wasn't sure he could go through with this. He wanted to go home and curl up in bed, preferably with G, and sleep this all off like it was a bad dream instead of another nightmare to add to his increasingly growing list.

Then Eric thought of something. He was a Bonded Omega. Why the Hell hadn't it occurred to him that he had a Bond?

Eric closed his eyes and reached out, tugging at the Bond in his head with increasing desperation. He nearly cried in relief when his hopes were answered and G sent a spiral of questions back. _Eric, what wrong?_

_The warehouse I'm investigating isn't nearly as abandoned as Headmaster thought it would be. There are guys here and they're scary as Hell and I'm being shot at and I can't reach anyone over __comms and I can't take this anymore. I want to come home._ Eric replied.

G was very understanding and Eric was so thankful he'd somehow managed to find himself in the Alpha's favor. He had no idea what his life would've been like if he were on G's bad side, but he had a general idea and he didn't want to know how bad it could've been.

G was running, his thoughts went so much faster when he was running. _Eric, are you safe?_

_I'm hidden behind some boxes and a Light Clone is leading them far away from me, but that's about as safe as it'll ever get._

G was silent for a moment, but Eric still got waves of comfort from the warmth of the Bond in his head. _Eric, I've talked to the Headmaster, he's going to send some backup. I'll be with them when they get there. Hang on a little longer, okay? I'm coming._

Eric purred softly. G was on his way. He'd be safe with G._ How on Earth did you convince Headmaster to let you come with the backup__?_

_Promised him I'd wait on the sidelines, that I just wanted to be there for you._ Eric heard the faint sound of a car engine and he sighed.

_You'll be here soon?_

_I'm just ten minutes away, _lumina mea.

Eric would've said more, but a thump and a metallic clang right after startled him and he went rushing away before whatever else was in there could find him. He was almost to the door when he felt something sharp his the side of his neck and he fell to the ground unconscious before he could so much as process the fact that he'd been hit.

Eric couldn't quite recall what had happened but when he woke up he was on the floor with a pounding headache and a spinning room. Not like the _'I'm on a Ferris Wheel'_ spinning but like the _'I've been drugged'_ spinning. Slowly, Eric sat up and waited while the hammers doing construction on his brain stopped pounding and the room returned to its normal resting state. When he opened his eyes, he sat by the wall in an unfamiliar room.

The walls where grey and the air was damp, but Eric wasn't quite afraid. Not yet. With a whispered curse, Eric let a ball of light come to life in the palm of his hand and he pushed himself to his feet so he could look around. He paced his small prison four times before he realized something was very wrong.

The air was damp and the walls were wet, but there was no water. The walls were cold and looked like stone, but they echoed hollowly when he tapped on them. There was an odd echoing noise that haunted the spaces he didn't occupy, but there wasn't a reason for one.

Eric made his entire body light up with the same glow in his palm and he gasped when he saw where he was. "No..." he murmured. "No, no, this can't be happening."

Because when he looked up, he was standing in the middle of what _looked_ like a device used to test a rocket's cargo in space. There was a camera higher up, Eric could see the blinking light. He whimpered.

_Lumos_ was about to become inactive because _Eric Beale_ was about to die.

_NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles_

G Callen was not a man easily startled, frightened, or cowed.

He was very afraid right now.

He'd met Eric Beale at twelve years old when he'd come to the common room in the middle of his second year and found a young boy who'd come in late from homeschooling. G had heard that the Year Two's where getting a new student, he didn't think it'd be so soon. As it was, he sauntered over to the couch the younger boy sat on and sat down. "Hi!"

The boy startled and G found himself looking into a pair of the prettiest blue-green eyes he'd ever seen. "Hi."

"I'm G Callen." G held out his hand as he'd been taught by Miss Hetty long ago.

"Eric Beale." the boy shook G's hand. "You've got a cool name."

"Really? Most people just ask why I've only got a letter."

"Is that what you want me to ask?" Eric blinked at him, eyes wide and innocent in a way G hadn't seen since he had his first vision in the middle of the night and woken up the rest of the kids in the orphanage when he screamed.

G shrugged, "You could, but there's not all that much to say. I don't know why I don't have a first name."

Eric nodded, "Then I won't ask." He smiled, showing off bright green braces and white teeth.

And thus, the beginning of that friendship was born. Eric had adopted his father's policy of 'if they offer you listen, otherwise you don't need to know' and G had learned the 'don't ask, don't tell' idea from Kensi and Sam who both had family in the military, so when Eric offered the information about how he was kicked out of a casino for helping his father win a poker game, Callen listen patiently and offered both his apology and his laughter. In-kind, G told the story of how he had fallen in an icy lake one winter at his seventh foster home, gotten pneumonia, and was laid up the rest of Christmas break. They worked carefully together to establish trust, which was only pulled stronger when G presented as Alpha at the end of their second year and came back from a visit to Hetty one weekend to find that Eric had presented as Omega.

G had asked Eric to become his significant other shortly before the transfers had come in from Canada at the end of year four and Eric was ecstatic to say yes. They'd Bonded that weekend and been in each other's heads ever since. G had never felt so at ease with someone, never been okay with having others in his head, but he was perfectly comfortable letting Eric share a Bond with him.

They'd had that Bond for this long. He wasn't going to give that up for a supervillain with a vendetta. He would fight tooth and nail for his right to be in that car to help Eric escape that mission-turned-hostage situation. G had _earned_ his place in Eric's life, he wasn't going to sit idly by while Eric was in danger when he could help.

G slid into the car with a forced calm around him and Hetty perched on the seat next to him and Gibbs across from him. Marty, Kensi, and Nell had also weaseled their ways onto this rescue mission.

"Now, remember kids, this is not a sanctioned mission. You are expected to stay back unless asked otherwise by myself or Mr. Gibbs." Hetty reminded them, meeting the eyes of each of the four kids.

They all nodded and Hetty turned to Gibbs. He sighed. "This woman is dangerous. I expect you'll be smart about it."

Again, they all nodded and the car rolled to a silent stop as they arrived at the warehouse. G had a feeling in his stomach, an awful churning that burned him from the inside out. He was hit suddenly with a vision that threw him for many loops. Flashes of a woman he didn't know, of Eric laying unconscious in a cylinder-like room, a vial, and a name and number. When he came back to reality, panting and sweating like he'd run a marathon, he knew this was life-and-death. He hadn't had a vision this bad or unexpected since he'd accurately predicted the deaths of two of the Academy's kids by a madman looking for vengeance. He looked up, eyes wild and scared.

"Mr. Callen, what did you see?" Hetty asked softly.

G Callen was not a man easily startled, frightened, or cowed. However, it came as no surprise to anyone who knew him that there was one guaranteed way to terrify him.

Callen gulped and met Hetty's eyes, "I... I saw Eric. Swallowtail was with him." Hetty was silent as she waited for him to continue. Callen wanted to cry. "She's going to kill him."

_NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles_

Eric was a mess of terror and panic when he feels the soft waves of comfort came floating to him from a Bond he'd momentarily forgotten he possessed for the second time that night. Or day. It had been too close to midnight when he'd slipped into the warehouse, so it was probably early morning.

There's a tightness in his chest that spoke of lingering anxiety and he _hated_ that feeling too much to submit to it, so he did he best to calm down. This chamber was terrifying enough without the threat of a panic attack looming over his head, similar to how his grandmother loomed over his father. He didn't want this panic attack, therefore he wasn't having one. Simple. Unfortunately, it seemed that his Anxiety hadn't gotten the memo.

As he sat there with his back against the wall and his head between his knees, he whimpered softly and prayed this wouldn't be the end. He still had so much he wanted to _do_, so much he wanted to _see_, he still had to beat Dom at Mario Kart. He couldn't die here. Could he?

A bubble of laughter echoed around the smooth tunnel and Eric nearly jumped out of his skin. A woman with dark hair and giant butterfly wings came from the shadows and Eric blinked when she didn't come into focus immediately. He blinked twice more before he realized his suit's glasses**(2) **weren't on his nose. That somehow made things even more terrifying. "Y-You're Swallowtail."

The woman hummed and the lower half of her face flickered with movement. "That's right, child. Who are you?"

"Er-" he barely caught himself, "I'm Lumos." Eric gestured up to the ball of light he'd released into the air shortly before he started panicking so bad.

Swallowtail inclined her head. "Why where you sneaking about my warehouse so late at night, Lumos?"

Eric shook his head. "Won't tell you."

Swallowtail growled softly, "Why ever not?"

Eric shook his head harder, "Not allowed."

Swallowtail hissed and pulled something shiny out of nowhere. "Perhaps _this_ will loosen your tongue." She shot forward with speed she shouldn't have had and Eric was pinned to the wall with her hand on his head. Swallowtail jabbed something into his neck and pain lanced through his body as she injected whatever it was into his veins.

He whimpered as his body began rejecting the contents of the vial. "What, what did you do?"

Swallowtail leaned in close so Eric could see every inch of her feral smile. "I'll come back when you're feeling more charitable." With a cackle and a flourish, Swallowtail was gone.

The pain ramped up suddenly and Eric screamed. The ball of light above him flickered out and he was left in darkness.

His voice echoed off the high, smooth walls and bounced back to him. He whimpered and whined and prayed for an end.

_G, please hurry!_

_NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles_

G's head snapped up, "Eric!" he cried.

Had Gibbs not grabbed his shoulder, G would've been out of the car and down the street before anyone could've stopped him. "Hold it, Callen. Hold it!"

G struggled against the older man's hands. "No, he's in trouble! Let me _go_!" His eyes flashed a faint black, then red, and Gibbs pulled back with a growl, taking G with him. _Away_ from the building.

"Get off me!" G gasped, fingers scrabbling against Gibbs's hands as he tried to throw his captor off. "Get off, I have to get to Eric!"

With increasing desperation, G clawed and bit and scratched at the hands that held him against the solid chest behind him. G burned himself out after another five minutes and panted harshly. "Please," he begged. "Please, he needs me."

Gibbs shook his head. "I'm sorry, Callen. I can't let you go in there."

G could feel tears burning behind his eyes, an echo of pain pulsing in his bones. He looked up at Gibbs, "They're hurting him, Gibbs. He's being tortured."

Gibbs nodded. "It's alright, son. We'll find him, don't worry."

G breathed deep and tried again to reach for his Omega through his Precognition. His power had never worked the best where Eric was concerned, but it usually gave him something to let him know Eric was okay.

A flash of his smile, a flickering smirk, an impression of whatever emotion Eric was feeling, anything to let G know Eric was _safe_ at least. This time, however, there was nothing and that was probably scarier than the vision G had received earlier.

Then his eyes widened. He closed his eyes tight and focused on the name and numbers that had flashed suddenly through his head only a few hours earlier. With a start, his eyes snapped open, glowing brightly, and he gasped

A vial flashed in the little light left in the tunnel; Eric writhing on the floor, body curled inwards, hands gripping his head with his eyes screwed shut and his mouth open in a scream; Swallowtail's face, an evil glint in her eyes as she stalked closer to her prey. The picture zoomed in on a set of numbers and a name again before it lurched out and focused on a shipyard, on a boat that was colored completely white.

G gasped as he came back to himself. "I found him."

He called to his friends through the Pack Bond. He was unsurprised to find that Sam, Nate, and Dom had found their way to the scene as well. Gibbs had left him to his visions short moments before and G looked at each of his PackMates, making full use of the moments before Hetty would come to check on him. "One of ours is in trouble."

Soft growls and hisses floated around the Pack and G found himself silently echoing the sentiments. Sam stepped forward, "What do you want us to do?"

It was unorthodox to have a Beta in place of an Alpha as the Pack Second, but Sam had never failed him and the rest of the Pack was just as unorthodox. They all respected the pair too much to question them.

G's eyes narrowed as he formulated a plan. "I know where to start looking. Hetty and Gibbs won't find him in time, so it's up to us. Ready?"

The Pack nodded.

A smirk flickered to life on G's lips. "Good. Here's the plan."

_NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles_

Eric was cold, shivers wracking every bit of his frame. The last traces of pain fled his body as the third round of whatever Swallowtail drugged him with left his bloodstream, leaving him sore and out of breath as he whimpered softly.

He wanted G. He wanted his PackMates. God, he wanted to go home. He had no idea how long he'd been in this God-forsaken shell, but he sincerely hoped it wasn't as long as he thought it was. He had considered bouncing up another ball of light, but he was so tired, he wasn't sure he could even reach for his powers, much less try to use them.

He was so _cold_.

The sound of a door opening made him flinch. The whisper of wings skimming the ground hit his ears and he whimpered softly. "_Please_. _Please_, let me go," he pleaded.

Laughter echoed around the cavern. "Why ever would I do that? When I'm finally finished with you, I'll have one of the Academy's finest as my servant. At my beck and call for everything and anything I wish."

Eric flinched. He and G had played around with that a little when things got too overwhelming for one or both of them. It wasn't anything big or sexual, just an outlet; a way to focus on something other than the stress and pressure on their shoulders. He was fairly certain a few of the others in their group touched on it occasionally. He wondered vaguely if Swallowtail understood what she'd just hit with her proverbial hammer.

He did not doubt it.

Swallowtail smiled and held up another vial, Eric whimpered, tried to get away; but his back was already against the wall and there wasn't anywhere left for him to go. Swallowtail leaned in close as she injected the contents of the vial into his neck, her breath hissed sharply over his ear. "I'm going to have so much fun breaking you."

Eric's screams swallowed the open air in its intensity and volume. Swallowtail left again, her smirk the last thing Eric saw before the darkness came rushing back with the slamming of a metal door.

He didn't know how long it lasted, didn't want to know. Whatever God was up there seemed to have pity and Eric mercifully passed out.

_NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles_

G had already had enough with the owner of the boat when the fourth wave of intense pain flooded his system and cut off suddenly. He slammed his hands down on the table the boat owner sat at. "Listen, asshole. My friend is out there alone, being tortured, and with one of the most notorious villains, you'll never have the misfortune of meeting. You tell me what I want to know now, or I'll come back with," he paused, a vision flashing before his eyes. He smirked, "I'll come back with your daughter and tell her about the kids you've been _helping._"

The man's eyes went wide. "You can't!"

G raised a single eyebrow. "You wanna risk it?"

The man shook his head frantically. "Alright, alright. There was a woman with the butterfly wings, big black ones with blue at the ends. She asked me to use my farmhouse for a few days in the future and paid me a few hundred thousand dollars to keep quiet about it. I just got myself _out_ of debt, I wasn't going to get myself into more to repair my house."

G smiled, big and fake, and nodded. "Good. Thank you." With that, he turned and left, making sure to shoot off a text to Sam Braddock to erase this man's mind of this encounter. Within moments, the message had been read and the man behind him let out a strangled gasp and a thump as his head hit the table. G smiled and felt Sam's mind brush his, _Good?_

He spared a brief moment to fleeting anger for Sam's father instilling it in the blonde's head that he would never be good enough. He smiled and warmth went spiraling through the tie. _Good job, Sam._

Sam's pleasant feelings where the only impression left in G's mind as he retreated from G's head, the tie (Sam had described it black with a few streaks of grey) flickered briefly then G's mind registered Sam had left. He sent the information he'd received to Timothy for an address and got one back promptly. G smiled.

Despite their differences and tendency to stay within their smaller groups, the entire year was essentially one big Pack, headed by the leaders of the smaller groups; Tony DiNozzo, G, Ed Lane, Jack Dalton, Steve McGarrett, Aaron Hotchner, and Don Eppes. Every single one of the group wouldn't hesitate to lay down their life for the others, no hesitation, no questions asked. Every Pack was protective over the Omegas, but this Pack was the most protective. Inhuman Omegas caught a lot of shit, but none more so than the ones in G's year. None of them were quite sure why, but it ramped up the normal Alpha instinct when others bullied the few Omegas in the group.

G shook that thought from his head, then called for his Pack again and growled softly. This pedophilic man may not have given him much to go on, but G was smart enough to put together the full picture.

He sent a mental message to his Pack and they responded immediately. It was time to get Eric back.

Swallowtail wouldn't know what hit her.

_NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles_

It was several hours later when Eric was finally completely aware of what was going on around him. He'd lost track of a lot of time while he was unconscious and he wondered how much time he'd ended up loosing. He was so scared. He reached out along the Bond and brushed against G's mind. _G?_

The response was immediate and dizzying. _I'm here._ Emotions came floating across the Bond with speed and raw passion and Eric was both comforted and worried by it.

_I'm_ _scared_. Eric whimpered as he shifted and pulled on sore muscles.

_I'm coming, Eric. I'm almost there. She's going to be stopped, Eric._ G reassured him. Waves of comfort washed over him and Eric whined softly.

With a shuffle and a push off the wall, Eric was sitting in a kind of crouch. He pushed himself up and stood on jello-like legs. He nodded to himself. _I know._

Eric sighed. What he wanted right now, more than anything in this world; was a bath, a bed, and G to curl up beside. But, as it was, the door creaked open and Eric prepared himself to deal with whatever was on the other side.

_NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles_

G came to a screeching halt at the driveway to the farm the man had told him about. He was almost afraid of what he'd find in the barn, but he threw the car into park and stepped out of the car alongside his Pack. "Soul, Transformer," he pointed left. Nate and Dominic followed his direction and were gone in moments.

"Parley, Houdini." G gestured right and the Bonded pair needed no more direction, they set off, leapfrogging over each other with no difficulties.

"Shade, Reflex." G started forward, Sam and Nell at his back.

None of his team needed more direction than bit and pieces of small indicators. They knew each other and their leader well. Nothing would stop them from getting their Packmate back. They went through the house methodically, room by room and not missing a single detail. G's eyes were narrowed as he held up a wrist**(3)**, "Shade, cut the lights."

Nell's eyes flashed, then glowed a faint black as she used her power to locate them all. She then shifted her hand so that her first two fingers pointed outwards while the rest curled inwards towards her palm. She waved her hand around the room a second time and every light in the farm flickered out. G nodded to Sam, who slid into a doorway with Nell behind him. G just barely managed to hold back the growl that threatened to tear past his lips and hide in time.

The soft noises of wings dragging against the round reached G's ears and he had to grip the doorway as two people came walking past arguing.

"Mistress, we can't give the prisoner any more of the pathogen, it will kill him!" cried a shaky male voice.

"He is to die by my hand anyhow, Null. It might as well be now." replied a steady female voice.

G narrowed his eyes as the voice continued, "Breaking him had proved harder than I thought. I have no use for an unbroken servant."

Blue-green met brown as the first set of footsteps continued and the second stopped. G peaked over and watched as the person sighed and began heading back the way he'd come. G's eyes snapped back to Sam's and he nodded to the man. Sam and Nell nodded back, silently slipping through the shadows to follow the man. Hopefully, he led them to Eric. G waited until they'd gone, then turn to follow Swallowtail.

_NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles_

Eric was a jumpy man by nature, it came with being subject to bullying for many years. Eric couldn't see what was happening too well, his glasses missing as they were, but that didn't mean he was unable to fight. If anything, he'd fight even harder with his glasses gone but the enemy didn't need to know that. Right now, all they needed to know was that Eric was still alive.

They didn't even need to know that, but Eric wasn't backing down from this fight. If they wanted to drug him or poison him or whatever it was they'd given him that had made him hurt so badly, they'd have to put up a fight first just as Swallowtail's minion had when he'd come creeping into the room expecting him to be unconscious. The door creaked again and Eric lit up his palms, calling back up the light he'd be gifted with and readied himself for the fight of his life.

A scrawny man came rustling through the door with a swirling mist resting in his palms and Eric growled softly. "Don't come any closer!"

"Er-" the voice cut off with a grunt as the head snapped around, looking to something Eric couldn't see, then the figure looked back. "Lumos, is that you?"

Eric tilted his head, regarding the voice, unsure if it was who he thought it was or a trick Swallowtail was using. "'Dini?"

A flicker of movement and the person moved closer. "We thought it was you!"

Eric shrunk back just a moment and held out one hand. The person stopped, "Lumos?"

"What's the buzzword**(4)**?" Eric demanded, his palm heating up until they were pure white.

"Buzzword?" A tilted head and a frown, then, "Oh! _Das Zentrum_**(5)**.

Eric relaxed and allowed him to step closer. "'Dini, what are you doing here?"

Marty Deeks stepped closer and hummed, "Can you throw up a ball of light?"

Eric obliged, throwing up two balls of bright light with a shiver. "What are you doing here?" he repeated.

Marty gently tilted Eric's head to the side and looked over the spot Swallowtail had injected him a grand total of four times with whatever had been in that God awful vial. "Optic got a vision. Eternal and Shield wouldn't be able to get here in time, so obviously, we had to intervein."

Eric whimpered softly as Marty cleaned his wounds and injected his arm with a dose of antibiotics and an antidote for any kind of poison. "Optic?"

Marty hummed again, "He's here."

Eric slumped down in relief. If G was here, then he would be safe. With a sigh, Eric relaxed and nodded to Marty.

Marty nodded back, "Let's get you to a Doctor, Lumos. Up you get."

Eric groaned and hissed when his limbs protested movement, but Marty wrapped an arm around his waist and took on most of his weight. "I've gotcha, 'Mos."

Perhaps the bath, bed, and cuddling he'd wanted early wasn't such a faraway thing anymore.

He reached out along the Bond and received waves of comfort and reassurance in return. He sighed, home sounded pretty damn good right now.

_NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles~NCIS Los Angeles_

G was furious with Swallowtail for thinking she could take what was his. Even more so with what she'd said about "breaking" him. That shit didn't fly.

Eric was a very independent person (though you'd probably get confused when you caught him on a bad day) and he had endured years of bullying and ridicule over something as simple as learning how to control his powers. He'd also done crazy things like surfed in Vietnam with his father one summer and hustled a poker game when he was little. Eric was proud of himself as a person and it took a lot to 'break' him.

(G would _never_ try to break Eric, but it should be said that Eric had once mentioned that G was the only one who'd be able to hurt him so much he completely shut down. Effectively breaking him beyond repair.)

Perhaps it said much to how G felt about his Mate that he was currently stalking Swallowtail, but he wanted her to hurt. He wanted her to hurt like she'd hurt Eric and nothing else would do.

As he snuck up behind her, G prepared one of his tranquilizer darks and waited for the moment to present itself. It did moments later. "You know, I never did like an Alpha who stayed away from his Mate in times of need. Always made me wonder if they truly loved the other."

G growled softly, shooting the dark and watching as it hit between the wings. Swallowtail turned and huffed, "An illusion is an illusion no matter what form it takes, young hero. Remember that." The image flickered and went away. G whipped around but no one else was there and he growled in frustration. He calmed himself down by taking in deep breaths and counting backward from ten in three different languages. Once he was calm, G rushed from the house and called to his Pack.

He informed them that Swallowtail had fled and he was coming to them.

The Pack expressed anger at being unable to bring Swallowtail to justice for what she did to Eric, but then Marty replied that he'd found Eric.

For three heartbeats, G was frozen. Then he snapped into action, moving as fast as his legs could carry him towards the clearing and the ambulance as the scenery around him blurred. He offered his thanks to Marty in his head and smiled. "Lumos!" he shouted.

A dirty blonde head snapped up, the owner's body standing from its spot on the bumper of the ambulance. Crystalline blue eyes darted through the crowd and focussed intently on blue-green. "Optic."

G skidded to a halt and pulled Eric into a hug. "You're safe now."

Eric slumped further against G and purred softly, "You're here." His voice was breathless, _exhausted_. God, what had Swallowtail _done_ to him?

G was suddenly struck with the truth behind Swallowtail's statement. An Alpha needed to be there for the Omega, not chasing after the Omega's attacker like an angel of justice or revenge. G resolved to never let that happen again.

He tightened his hold on Eric when the smaller man burrowed into his chest with a sigh. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there when we first found you."

Eric shook his head. "You're here _now_." He said it like it was the only thing that mattered. Like it was all that he cared about. G could see that being the case here. "I wanna go home."

G nodded, "We'll make sure nothing lasting happened and then go home, I promise."

Eric whined a protest but ultimately accepted. Where the tables turned, he knew he'd be doing the same thing.

They got him checked out and made sure nothing was wrong with him and Eric never let go of G's hand. Once the examination was over and no lasting effects had been found, G pulled Eric to his feet and wrapped an arm around his waist, letting the smaller man lean against him for support.

Eric winced with every few steps, the pain his body had been through making itself known now that adrenaline was no longer running through his system. G wished he could take away the pain, it hurt him to see his Omega hurting, but he couldn't do that. Not this time.

When they finally made it back to Eric's room, G hesitated to let Eric go. He was pleased that Eric seemed to pick up on this or felt the same way, because he took a single look at his room, with its knickknacks on the dresser and clothes piled up near the closet, and looked back at G. "Can I stay with you?"

G smiled, "Of course you can," and led him to the asked room.

They got into pajamas and slid under the covers. G pulled Eric closer as Eric curled up on his side. "Feeling better?"

Eric hummed. "How long was I gone?"

"Only a few hours. The whole team was given the day off. You and I are excused for tomorrow as well."

"What did I miss in our classes?"

"I show you when you wake up, _buburuză_**(6)**. Sleep now." G pressed a kiss to Eric's forehead and laid back, resting his hand on Eric's arm.

Eric sighed, a warm puff of breath on G's chest, and yawned. "Thank you for saving me."

G chuckled. "I'll always come to save you, Eric."

"I think when I stop having nightmares about this every night, I'll be fortified by trauma." Eric blinked sleepily, then closed his eyes and sighed again. "Love you."

G smiled, looking up at the ceiling with a chuckled. "Love you too, _buburuză_."

He joined Eric in sleep.

**(1) It's how it reads, a clone made of light made to trick your eyes into seeing what's not there.**

**(2) Wrap around glasses that act similar to the inside of the Iron Man helmet. Look up 'high tech glasses' on Pinterest for a better idea.**

**(3) Think of the Widow's Bites for Black Widow.**

**(4) A specific word for each of them NCIS Los Angeles team to say to another should one suspect one of them of not being who they say they are.**

**(5) German for center, heart, or hub.**

**(6) Romanian for ladybug. Yes, G calls Eric ladybug. Fight me.**


	4. Sins of the Father

Sins of the Father

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

**The title comes from the phrase; "The sins of the father shall be visited upon the sons."**

**AU: Inhuman Academy, Alpha/Beta/Omega**

_Hondo Harrelson [Code Name: React]:__ superhuman reflexes (Physical), Alpha_

_Deacon Kay [Code Name: Assegai]: psychic weapons (PhysMental), Beta_

_Dominique Luca [Code Name: Telescope]: telescopic vision (Physical), Beta_

_Victor Tan [Code Name: Touch-Test]: inorganic (Shifter), Beta_

_Chris Alonso [Code Name: Siren]: sonic scream (Physical), Alpha_

_Jim Street [Code Name: Stonewall]: Earth/stone manipulation (Elemental), Omega_

Let's get one thing straight, James Street was nobodies plaything. He was no one's plaything, bitch, Omega, submissive, or otherwise. He'd proven long ago that he wouldn't take shit from anyone. However, this was all undercut when someone managed to corner him, he was suddenly a little kid waiting for his father's belt to create roses full of pain blooming across his back.

Like now, for instance.

The Alpha had been following him around for several weeks, some Eighth Year wanting to "show him a good time". The thing about _that_ was, Jim had been scent marked by his entire Pack since the start of said Pack and he wasn't all that interested in this Eighth Year, so could the guy please leave him alone?

Turns out, no. No, he could not.

Jim had just gotten back from a mission, a simple protection detail, and was _really _looking forward to a nice shower and then sleeping until class the next morning. He'd been thinking about how he couldn't understand why half the kids in his Year hated getting up so early, but then again, most of them where teens and teens don't like to be awake before noon. Jim was also thinking strongly about the odds of getting in a quick game of Mario Kart with Luca when the 8th Year showered up.

"Hey, Omega! Wait up!" shouted an all-too-familiar voice.

"Oh, no," Jim muttered, closing his eyes with a sigh. He turned to face the Alpha with a too-wide smile plastered to his face. "How can I help you?"

"You've been avoiding me," Holt Anderson, the abovementioned Alpha, said, hissing a laugh through gritted teeth.

You didn't go through what Jim had gone through without learning a few things. This kid wasn't willing to laugh it off, he wanted answers and a fight. Jim hated it when this happened. He was Omega, his first instinct was to talk to someone before fighting them, but never let it be said that he couldn't also hold his own. He could fight with the best of them, even without his powers, but that didn't mean he wanted to. Just because he was quick on his feet and had a mean left hook didn't mean he had to use them all the time _or _that he needed them to win all his battles.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. I'm not looking for a casual fling. You're also not my type, man." Jim tried hard to remain civil and _not_ punch this guy. He didn't need a black mark on his record for hitting this asshole. He honestly just wanted to go to sleep, he'd been up a long time while on this mission and he had the rest of the day off.

"Oh, but you will be, once you see what I have to offer." Holt stepped forward, effectively back Jim into a corner, pinning him to the wall with his hand on Jim's shoulder. "Just let me show you, Omega."

Jim tried to keep his head in the present, but all he could think about was his father- his _Alpha_ father- coming up the hall with that belt in his hand and pinning him to the wall with one hand on his shoulder and the other rearing back to swing the belt. "No. No, get off." Street pleaded, "Let go!" The Alpha pressed closer and Jim could smell the beer on his breath. He swung wildly, hitting something and knocking away the weight pinning him to the wall. He scrambled away before his fath- before the _Alpha_ could get up and come after him again.

_S.W.A.T.~S.W.A.T.~S.W.A.T._

James Street was one of the most powerful people on the planet. The reason behind this being that he was classified as an Elemental, his powers being that he could control the Earth beneath his feet. He'd found out about them the night his father died. When he saw his mother's bullet take his father's life, he'd caused an earthquake. A minor one, he wasn't that powerful yet, but it was big enough to cause damage to small buildings and street lamps. Since then, he'd kept a tight reign on his powers, rarely letting them slip off their leash. He sometimes took damage, holding back the forces of Earth didn't come without consequences after all, but it was worth it to keep people safe.

Jim would kill himself if it meant he was saving others.

That was why Hondo Harrelson was the perfect protector.

Hondo was acutely tuned to handle the younger man, no matter how bad Jim spiraled into his head, Hondo had always been able to pull him out. They had a kind of brotherly bond that Jim had desperately needed. It was a roll that few people could fill but Hondo was damn good at it. Hondo had been a kind of parent to himself and his sister before, it wasn't hard to fall into the role once more for Jim.

It was also for the kid's safety. Elementals (being so rare) were highly prized, sold expensive on the black market. How did Hondo know that? Well, some years ago, before Hondo grew into his powers, he knew a girl with the power to manipulate lightning. Her classification was Molecular, but they treated her like an Elemental anyway. Suppression collars only worked so long until they started hurting the user, but that didn't matter to the buyers. Hondo hadn't been fast enough to save that girl, but he would make damn sure to be fast enough to save Jim if it was needed.

Hondo would protect Jim, the entire Pack would, which is why they'd Scent Marked him. Others needed to know that Jim wasn't looking for anyone, that he was protected by a Pack. Sadly, not all Alphas heeded to that subtle hint.

Jim had talked about some Alpha getting too close and trying to scent him, trying to form a Bond where Jim wasn't interested in making one. Maybe that's why Hondo was looking around, trying to see if he could spot the smaller teen. When the panic crashed into him from the Pack bond, he'd immediately ducked out of class, citing Pack Rights to his sympathetic Professor, and rushing off to the bathrooms. Hondo knew Jim had just come back from a mission, so he was probably still a bit ramped up. It would make it harder to find him, but not impossible. Hondo slipped into another bathroom and nearly hit Deacon Kay. "Deacon?"

"I felt him, Hondo. We all did. Chris is checking empty classrooms, Luca and Tan are hoping to find him in our dormitory. I checked with Mumford and Rocker**(1)**, they're looking too. Rocker said he was fine when I got back from the mission." Deacon replied.

Hondo appreciated that Deacon understood what needed to be done and what Hondo needed to hear at that time. Deacon was a good Second. "Alright. Let's go."

Deacon followed Hondo to the next bathroom, glancing around the hallway and checking storage closets and open classrooms. Hondo checked another bathroom, but found nothing more than mold someone had grown and old writing that said "Ecto was here" or "Superflarrow 4eva". Hondo spared a brief thought to his Null girlfriend at the writing, then shook his head. Jim was waiting. They needed to find him.

"Hondo!" Deacon called from a broom closet a door down.

Hondo came running. "Find him?"

Deacon nodded, "Chris, Luca, and Tan are on their way. He's not looking so good."

Hondo nodded and stepped into the closet. Jim had his head between his knees, hands wrapped around his legs, curled up in a ball with his body squeezed into the smallest, tightest corner he could manage, directly across from the door. Hondo knew a lot about Jim's past, he knew about his father, about the foster homes, about how many foster homes Jim had been through, and about how he felt responsible for his mother being in jail. Hondo was the best-suited person to talk to Jim right now. He stepped into the broom closet and murmured to Deacon, "Call the rest of the team. Use the phone, not the Pack Bond. He'll need all of us when we're done."

Deacon nodded and got his phone out.

"Hon-Hondo?" asked a small voice.

Hondo turned back to Jim. "I'm here, kid."

Jim peaked out from behind his knees, brown eyes wide and tearful. "Hondo, he came after me. I didn't mean to hit him."

Hondo knelt next to the younger, letting the door swing shut behind him, and set a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Slow down, Jim. Start from the beginning."

Jim sniffled, then nodded. "Okay."

_S.W.A.T.~S.W.A.T.~S.W.A.T._

Jim had been in class when the Alpha first started coming after him. Jim had been studying his notes, looking over the review for the test he'd missed while on a mission, and rotating a few small crystalized rocks in his hand (without his powers, he'd gotten into some trouble with this Professor for 'unnecessary' use of his abilities, he wasn't risking anything). The Alpha had come over and sat at the desk next to him. "Holt Anderson; Alpha, you may know me better as Laser Eye."

"James Street," Jim returned, not looking up from the papers he was looking over.

"You smell pretty great, you know," Holt stated. "You Omega?"

Jim cut him a side glare, then returned to his studying. "Yeah, what's it to you?"

"Hey, chill out, man. Just trying to make a conversation. You could loosen up some, babe. You wanna come back to my room? I could show you a good time."

Jim looked up, finally taking in the Alpha beside him. He was blonde, with crystal clear blue-green eyes, a bulky build, and big hands. Jim took a subtle whiff of the air and knew immediately that it wouldn't work. "I'm not interested, but thanks," he then went back to his studying.

The Alpha looked to say something else, but then the teacher called for Jim and he sighed, packing his review and notes away. He'd slacked off too much when he'd first gotten here, took too much for granted, and almost lost his position and his status as a Hero, it was only by the grace of God and a few good words put in by his Pack that he hadn't been _expelled_. He wasn't _ever_ taking that for granted again. Jim was exhausted, but it was worth it to be here.

He stood and followed the teacher out into the hall. "I appreciate you letting me retake the test, sir."

The teacher nodded, "Don't let this chance go to waste, Mr. Street. The world needs Stonewall just as much as it does the rest of its heroes."

Jim smiled and nodded, "Yes, sir."

The teacher let the door close, propping it open with a small box for when Street was done and began his lesson for the day, secure in the knowledge that Street would do fine.

It wasn't until lunch that Holt Anderson bothered him again, eyes glowing a faint red that came with both the Alpha territory and Holt's powers. Jim had been rotating the rocks in his hands again, with his powers this time and picking at his food. He was waiting for his Pack, rather impatiently, he wanted to talk to Chris about the mission they had coming up soon and now was as good a time as any.

Holt slid into the seat across from Jim and grinned. Jim took one look and shrank back, suddenly wishing for all the world to be anywhere but here. Holt spoke first, "Don't think we got to finish our earlier conversation."

"Listen, man, I said I'm not interested, let it go. I'm waiting for my Pack." Jim leaned away from Holt as he leaned in sniffing obviously. "Dude, what the Hell?"

Holt didn't pull back, he leaned in closer. "Stay still."

Jim backed further away. "I'm serious, man. Please leave me alone."

Holt did nothing of the sort, leaning in further as Jim pulled away. It was when Holt put his hands on Jim that he'd had enough. Holt had put his hand on his thigh, higher than any person should _ever_ go without permission. Jim shot up out of the chair and back away several paces, right into a solid warmth that made him flinch before he recognized the scent of his PackMates, Victor Tan and Dominique Luca.

Luca stepped forward while Tan set a hand on Jim's shoulder, being gentle in the face of whatever had startled his friend so badly. Luca's focus was on Holt Anderson. "You've overstayed your welcome. Leave."

Holt Anderson wasn't so brave in the face of two angry Beta males. He left with his metaphorical tail between his legs. Contrary to popular belief, a Beta wouldn't fold under Alphas unless they knew they couldn't win and this was a fight Luca and Tan knew very well they could win. They'd been on missions with tougher Inhumans than this asshole, it would be an easy thing to send him running.

The rest of the Pack came over, each wondering why Jim was so quiet, but not willing to push it. Jim would tell them when he was ready and because he trusted them with his wellbeing. He told them that night. They were in Hondo's room, it was Pack Night and they were watching the early 2000's Disney movies. They were a favorite for everyone, which made it perfect for movie night.

Jim had been quiet the rest of the day, leaving the Pack very worried about him. When he finally broke his silence, it was during movie night. "His name is Holt Anderson. He was talking to me earlier today, but I wasn't interested. I just wanted to take the test I missed and get back to the lesson."

Hondo spoke up, "What happened at lunch today, kid?"

Jim blinked back a few tears, he hated getting upset over this kind of stuff, but his brain wouldn't let it go. "He was trying to scent me. I kept backing away, telling him to back off, but he kept getting closer. He wouldn't leave me alone. He put his hands on me." Jim pulled his legs up, wrapping his arms around them and burying his face in his knees. "If Luca and Tan hadn't come when they did."

Hondo stood and moved to sit closer to Jim. Chris slipped her hand into his and laid her head on his shoulder. Deacon, Luca, and Tan moved in closer as well, each of them letting Jim know they were there. He wasn't alone anymore. Jim sniffled. The Pack had each been told at some length about his father, how awful he'd been, how he'd hurt and harmed him and his mother. They all knew how scared he felt when an Alpha cornered him. None of them wanted him to feel like that ever again.

Hondo glanced at Luca, who was closer to the closet and Luca nodded, standing slowly and heading to the wooden door. He opened it and pulled out blankets. The first one was weighted, just enough to ground whoever was using it. They usually used this one for those who were injured or having nightmares. Street's pain qualified as both right now. The rest of the blankets where regular blankets and he passed them out to the rest of the Pack.

Jim shivered again, tears streaming down his face with every blink of his eyes. "I was _so_ scared."

Chris looked at him, "You don't have to be afraid. We're here, we'll protect you."

The others echoed the same sentiments.

Jim smiled, sniffling again and nodding. "Thanks, guys. I appreciate it."

They'd gone to sleep not long after, all of them curled around Jim like they were dragons and he was a priceless gem. In a way, though, that's exactly what he was.

_SWAT~SWAT~SWAT_

Hondo listened patiently as Jim told him everything about Holt Anderson and how he'd come after him, even the things Hondo already knew. He listened and retained everything, filling it all away for later. He retained all the information knowing that this was Jim's last chance to stay in the Academy and keep his Hero status. If he lost his status here, he'd be branded as a Vigilante, an Anti-Hero, or a Villain**(2)** depending on the severity of his case.

The only thing Jim could be accused of was wanting to be a good son, being loyal to his mother, but even Hondo had limits and when Jim had endangered his teammates, dropping everything to run to his mother's aid, completely blind to her manipulation and uncaring of what she would ask of him in return, willing to run himself into the ground to please her, Hondo had seen enough. He'd gotten into the kid's face before hoping to save him from himself, but Jim wouldn't see reason, so Hondo had taken it to the school board. Jim had been taken off active duty, had been sent to do filing instead. He'd finally seen his mistakes and taken responsibility, apologizing profusely to each of his teammates, everyone he'd bailed on or who'd gotten hurt _because_ he bailed. Hondo had made good on his promise to the kid, put in a good word, requested that Jim be reconsidered for active duty again.

After Hondo's joint mission with a lady he had a bit of history with, he came back and found Jim had been placed on a probationary basis with his team. He could see the change in his youngest team member, Jim was more responsible and he didn't get into any more fights. He still went to visit his mother, but he no longer dropped everything for her, talking things out with Hondo before he went anywhere around his mother. Hondo made damn sure to protect Jim from as much as he could as often as he could.

Hondo gently wrapped his arms around Street as the younger stopped talking. "It's okay, Jim. I'm here."

Jim gripped Hondo's arm for dear life, hands shaking as he struggled to keep his powers reigned in while he was breaking completely apart. Hondo wished they could go out to the fields, let Jim feel everything without having to hold back, but the next bell would be ringing soon and they had limited time. So, for now, he let Jim break as much as he could. He murmured to Jim, letting him know he was here, letting him know he wasn't leaving.

"He reminded me of my Dad." Jim choked out eventually. "He cornered me and put his hands on me, he smelled like alcohol and it reminded me of Dad."

Hondo's arms tightened around Jim's body, "Your father can't hurt you any longer, Jim. Even if he could, I'm here. I'll protect you."

Jim nodded against Hondo's shoulder. "Okay."

The bell would ring soon and Hondo would pull Jim from the closet to the older's room. They'd meet the rest of the Pack there and spend the rest of the day there letting Jim calm down. He'd tell everyone the whole story, let them know why this had affected him so badly. Chris would want to go and kill Holt Anderson right there, but Jim would beg her not to go. She'd stay, curling around him like she was the only thing standing in the way of Jim's death and she'd be damned before she left him alone and scared. Luca, Tan, and Deac would look at him and silently ask for instruction. Hondo would tell them what he wanted to do about it and what he _would_ do about it. Later, the Pack would go to the fields and Jim would allow his powers of the leash he kept them on. They'd fix all of this.

But for now, Hondo was content with comforting Jim in the storage room, letting Jim calm himself down enough to get to Hondo's room. For now, Hondo reminded himself that Jim was here and safe, nothing could hurt him while Hondo was here. The sins of the father may affect the sons, but Hondo wouldn't let Jim hurt for something that wasn't his fault.

Over his dead body.

**(1) Mumford is a teacher, retired superhero. Rocker functions as a TA between missions. Both are friendly with Hondo's Pack but not part of it and both have a soft spot for Street.**

**(2) Larry Toth was kicked out of the Academy shortly after the events of 'the strong man stands up for himself, the stronger man stands up for others', he ends up being a Vigilante because of his torment of Omegas. Vigilantes are mostly bullies and most of the time they grow out of it. Anti-Heroes are kicked out and labeled as such because they have little regard for villains' lives and are willing to do things most Heroes won't, much like in Marvel or DC. Villains show bodily harm to themselves or others, hold little regard for human life in general and refuse to change their ways.**


	5. have we paid our debt in heartbreak?

have we paid our debt in heartbreak? (or does the universe still demand more?)

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

**The title comes from a poem by _gallixie_ on Tumblr. I just felt it set the mood. **

**I did mess with the timeline a little bit, Ray is older than ****Horatio.**

_Hor__atio Caine [Code Name: Augur]: innate capability (Mentality), Alpha_

_Calleigh Duquesne [Code Name: Arsenic]: poison generation (Physical), Alpha_

_Tim Speedle [Code Name: Rot]: disintegration (Molecular), Beta_

_Eric Delko [Code Name: Livewire]: electrical manipulation (Elemental), Omega_

_Ryan Wolfe [Code Name: Kinesthesia]: superhuman senses (Physical), Beta_

_Alexx Woods [Code Name: Carbon-Copy]: duplication (Physical), Beta_

_Natalia Boa Vista [Code Name: Nameless]: invisibility (Physical), Omega_

Horatio doesn't remember ever feeling so helpless.

Well, that's not entirely accurate. He'd felt like this twice before. Once after Tim Speedle had been shot at and they'd nearly lost him. The other time was when he lost his brother, Raymond, who had a wife and a young boy at the time.

They had been lucky with Speedle, the bullet had hit his shoulder. The doctor had told them that if the bullet had been a few inches lower, they'd be planning a funeral instead of PT appointments. The only bad part about it was that Speedle's shoulder had restricted movement now, he'd been Medically Retired before his Hero career had even begun. He complained about it sometimes when he was particularly upset. The team was just thankful that Speedle was still around the complaint.

That may not be the case this time.

They'd been on a mission. Horatio and Eric were going after Clavo Cruz, a man with the power to create precious jewels out of any kind of material. The entire team had been after him for several months after he'd killed a young girl for no reason. The government hadn't sanctioned it, because of Clavo Cruz's immunity, but the Headmaster had asked them to look into the family. Horatio had taken this one very personally, going after Clavo with everything he could. Clavo had made a promise when he'd finally been put in jail, that because Horatio had taken something Clavo loved, Clavo would take something Horatio loved.

When he thought about it metaphorically, Horatio likened Clavo to a gambler who played with lives rather than money. He just never thought that the life Clavo gambled with _wouldn't_ be Horatio's. Horatio burned with anger now that he thought about it. Clavo was a spoiled rich boy, he didn't know _anything _about being a real man. He sought to take and take and give nothing in return. And _take_ Clavo did. They'd been on a mission, with Horatio and Eric on the ground with Speedle in the van as tech support and backup if needed. Clavo had "kidnapped" a woman and they needed to find her before she ran out of oxygen and died. They'd been looking through car after car, trunk after trunk, Mercedes after Mercedes, and found nothing. The woman was running out of time, they had to pick up the pace.

They hadn't even noticed the flashing metal above them until it was too late.

When the shots rained down, Speedle was immediately in their ears asking for status, _"Team,_ _status_."

Horatio had radioed immediately, "Augur reporting, no harm. I'm fine," but Eric hadn't responded.

"_Livewire, _report," Speedle snapped over the radio, worry crackling in his voice.

"I'm fine, Rot," Eric grunted back, hands sparking with electricity he'd siphoned from the underground phone lines. "I'm not hit."

The firefight they'd been engaged in was mostly bullets with the occasional shot of electricity from Eric and the projectiles from Horatio's standard-issue dart gun**(1)**. It was fine, they could handle it. That is until Eric got shot through the leg with one of those bullets. He'd been crouching in the open, unable to get to shelter because the gunman had him caged. When the shot hit his leg, Eric had cried out, agony _tangible_ in every inch of his pain. He'd rolled, put himself flat on the ground, getting the pain under control and shooting off more electric charges.

"Livewire!" Horatio called. He glanced over, then made a split-second decision. He darted out to get Eric, grabbing Eric's arm and helping him drag himself behind the cars. "Are you alright?" the ginger asked, shooting off another dart.

Eric panted through the pain, electrically charged hands still crackling with energy where they were pressed to his bloody wound, gritting his teeth with a nod, "I'm fine."

Horatio fire three more bullets before the gunman was hit with the dart that put him out. He'd turned to speak to Eric, but another shot cracked, splitting the air around them and Eric fell to the ground. "Livewire?"

"_Augur, what happened?_" Tim demanded, "_Augur, status,_ please."

"Eric?" Horatio murmured, kneeling next to the Omega and leaning in, he heard a heartbeat, felt weak breaths against his cheek. "Rot, call the paramedics and get the Headmaster down here! Call for the rest of the team and make sure Carbon-Copy is with them."

"_Yes, Augur,_" Tim replied, fingers flying over the keys. The air around him hissed and steamed, but he paid it no mind, refusing to let anything distract him.

It took ten minutes for the paramedics to get there and another five before another pair of heroes, Quake and Sparkplug, came to take over. Sparkplug offered Horatio a smile and Horatio nodded back, grateful that others understood. When he knew the scene was safe, Horatio turned and asked the paramedics which Inhuman hospital they were taking Eric too. The paramedics told him and Horatio nodded, "I'll meet you there." He looked at them imploringly like he wanted to say more, but he held his tongue and sighed, racing off to find Tim and get to the hospital.

Tim was shaking by the time they got to the hospital. Horatio covered Tim's hand with his own, "Eric's going to be okay, Tim."

Tim nodded, blinking away his tears, "He got shot in the _head_, H. How is that _okay_?"

"Speed, he was breathing when they loaded him in the ambulance, he was breathing and his heart was beating. If anyone can survive a bullet wound like that, it's Eric." Horatio soothed the distressed Beta, rubbing his thumb over the back of Tim's hand.

Tim buried his face in his free hand, "It's just..." he sighed, "I don't want the last thing I said to him be a status demand."

Horatio understood. Ever since they'd begun their triadic relationship, both Timothy and Horatio had become more protective over Eric. Truth be told, it was hard not to worry about him, he was such a trouble magnet. It was hard for Horatio and Tim to not be worried about Eric no matter what he was doing, where he was going, or who he was with, for the sheer _possibility_ that he found himself in some kind of trouble. It was especially apparent when they went out on missions because despite the scent blockers every Secondary and Inhuman person was required to wear on missions, the bad guys always seemed to know it was Eric to go after. Tim was especially worried over Eric because he wanted to make damn sure that if he couldn't protect Eric the same way an Alpha could, then he'd protect him in the Beta way and make sure to check on him often, make sure he was healthy, and ensure he was safe enough for a person in their line of work.

Horatio sighed, "It's going to be okay, Timothy. I promise, no matter what happens, everything will be okay."

Tim nodded, then sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes. He met Horatio's eyes, the dark brown of his irises pools of unspeakable pain, and whispered, "Okay."

They pulled up to the hospital, and a kind nurse was immediately right there at the door, "You're here for Livewire, right? I'm civilian, so I can only offer a few updates." Tim drew in a sharp gasp, but the nurse smiled, "No, don't worry, all the regular civilians are gone now**(2)**, this hospital is safe, few of them not read onto the HPA. I just volunteered to stay and wait for you. Livewire's always been a favorite hero of mine, saved my life once or twice."

Horatio offered a small smile, "What can you tell us, ma'am?"

"They've taken Livewire in for surgery, it's touch and go, right now, he's lost a lot of blood, and with that head wound, the doctors are apprehensive. We've got the best surgeons and doctors in their field working on him. They sent me out with these papers." She handed Horatio a small stack of papers, "If you could fill them out and give them to one of the nurses with the stars on their badges, that'll take care of him on your end." She leaned in to whisper, "Just be sure you _only_ give those papers to a nurse with the stars on their badges, they've got the clearance to know the person behind the mask. There have been a few leaks in the past relating to civilian nurses." She offered a comforting smile.

Horatio smiled, "Thank you, ma'am."

She smiled, "Just call me Kelly. I'll come back tomorrow." Kelly left, slipping into the back and out of sight.

Horatio steered Tim to the waiting room, where they found the rest of their team with a duffle bag full of clothes. Tim took the bag and disappeared into the restrooms after a quick look around. They may have been in the Hero's Wing, but some people would do anything to see the people behind the masks. Horatio stayed behind and began filing out the papers, letting the rustling and scratching take over the sound of other worried Heroes. When Tim came back, dressed in his normal clothes, Horatio handed over the papers and took the bag. He dressed in his civilian clothes quickly and rejoined his group.

Calleigh came over first, spoke to him Alpha to Alpha, "What happened?"

So, Horatio explained. He began from the start of the mission, telling Calleigh how he had investigated as he was told, how he was led to the car lot, and how the firefight had started. He explained that Eric had gotten shot in the leg, then in the head. He explained and Calleigh listened, then hugged her leader hard. "I'm so sorry."

Horatio said nothing until Tim held up the papers and murmured, "Let's go find a nurse, H."

Horatio looked at the Beta and nodded his agreement, "Let's go then."

They stood, Horatio only having the glance at Calleigh before she was nodding and promising to call with any updates. Horatio wrapped his arm around Tim's waist and they set off for the nurses' station. Horatio asked quietly if Kelly was still there and the nurse working checked her records. "No. Sorry, boys, she's been off a while now. Is there anything I can help you with?" She flicked her head, her hair swinging away from her shoulder and exposing the name on her badge, three little stars shaping the end.

Horatio smiled and held out a hand. Tim handed him the papers and Horatio held them out. "These are for Livewire, ma'am."

The Nurse, Dani Kotters, gasped and glanced over her shoulder at the man at the other end of the station. She took the papers and began to quickly file them away. "These will help us immensely, boys. I just wish Edward wasn't here, he likes to try and peek at the paperwork knowing very well he isn't signed to the Act**(3)** yet. Thankfully, all of the Hero's Files are under lock and biometric keys. A nuisance to deal with when we have to add in new people but worth it to protect Heroes' identities." She looked up at them, "Relation to the patient?"

"I'm his Alpha, ma'am. Mr. Speedle can hear everything." Horatio replied, pulling Speed a little closer.

The nurse nodded, "Alright," she lowered her voice, "In all honesty, he isn't doing well. We're doing the best we can to save him, but with the head wound, we're worried about a lot of things. With this type of injury, it's usually a done-deal you understand. We're hopeful though, because of his power. He can harness electricity, right? With this in mind, we're very hopeful for him."

Horatio nodded, "What do we need to prepare for should he come out of this?"

"Well, with all head injuries, there's the possibility of brain damage and for that, you need to prepare for the fact that this may not be the same person you knew before all of this. And you also need to be prepared for the possibility that Livewire may _not _make it out of this at all," Nurse Kotters replied, offering the boys a sympathetic look and a sigh. "Livewire is a strong person, we're still working with him and there is every reason to believe he'll survive. Don't give up hope yet, boys."

Horatio nodded and began herding Tim back to the waiting area, "Thank you, ma'am."

She waved them off, silently gripping the cross she wore and sent up a silent prayer.

_CSI Miami~CSI Miami~CSI Miami_

Tim woke up to Horatio gently calling his name and shaking his shoulder. "Tim, there letting us see him. Come on." Tim shot out of his seat and knocked into Horatio, almost causing them to fall to the floor.

Tim gasped, "I'm sorry."

Horatio shook his head, "It's alright, Tim. Come on." He held out his hand and Tim took it, pulling himself to his feet.

They headed up to their injured lover's room and Nurse Kotters let them inside with no protest. She offered a sympathetic smile, stepping aside. "He's stable. We believe he'll fully recover. He's a lucky man, there were a few times we thought he wouldn't make it."

Horatio smiled, "Thank you, ma'am."

She nodded, "We'll come to get you when visiting hours are up." Then she was gone, disappearing as fast as any Hero could.

Horatio pulled Tim over to the bed and guided him to sit down in the chair, knowing that his shoulder would be bothering him after all this worrying. They sat there for a while in silence, taking in the fact that Eric was still alive and would soon come back to them. Horatio came closer and whispered, "Don't you worry about anything, Eric. You just concentrate on getting better, Tim and I have the others covered. You focus on getting better and coming back to us and we'll handle everything else."

Tim took Eric's hand and sniffed, rubbing his free hand over his nose, "We're here now, Eric. Take your time, we'll be here."

Horatio set a hand on Tim's uninjured shoulder and Tim glanced up at him with a sad half-smile. They both sat there, willing to stay until Eric woke up or they were asked to leave. Willing to stay as long as they were needed.

Horatio began to recite a poem he'd heard a while ago, hoping that his voice would help Eric to know that they were there.

_For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I think this is another way of saying that there is a price to pay for everything. And what is the price we paid, my love? Have we paid our debt in heartbreak? Or does the universe still demand more from us?_

Tim's tears reflected the sadness in his heart and Horatio gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "We've paid our debt in heartbreak, I think," he murmured to Tim.

Tim nodded his agreement, "The universe will still demand more."

They sat there in silence, hoping that their lover would wake up soon, but willing to be there even if he didn't.

**(1) The kids with noncombatant powers like Horatio Caine, Ryan Wolfe, and Natalia Boa Vista are given weapons to help boost their abilities. Every Hero is given a wrist holstered dart gun and a belt holstered dart gun in case of them being unable to use their powers. Horatio also has a mini-taser in his boot and his phone can be used as a stunner if needed.**

**(2) So numbers 2 and 3 kinda go hand in hand. To prevent superheroes civilian identities from getting out, Nurses, Doctors, and other kinds of hospital personal have to sign the Hero Protection Act (HPA).**

**(3) The Hero Protection Act (HPA) was made when Heroes began getting their identities revealed by doctors and nurses who wanted to make quick money. ****The people signed to this Act have name badges with small stars next to their names, as stated in the story. There is an extensive process to ensure that secrets can be kept. If you break the Act, you are blacklisted for the rest of your career. It's a mess, haha.**


End file.
